Perspectives on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Developments in China Georges Darido

National BRT Institute Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) at the University of South Florida A presentation to the: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and invited guests On behalf of the: FTA Office of Research, Demonstration and Innovation (TRI) Washington D.C. May 2006

Overview of Presentation Purpose of trip and meetings



FTA Public Transportation Trade Mission to China - April 16-26, 2006 Additional BRT/Research meetings

Background on China’s growth, institutions and policies Urban transportation problems and priorities BRT systems and plans by city Initial findings and next steps




Exchange of data and knowledge Areas of potential contribution Areas for further cooperation

Your Questions and Comments

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The main purpose was to visit BRT operating systems and meet with organizations engaged in BRT planning or operations Establish contact and a channel of communications for future cooperation Collect initial data and descriptions of the BRT systems in China in operation and planning








To be included in the updated version of the publication, “Characteristics of Bus Rapid Transit for Decision Making”, to be released in 2007 Expand the understanding of level of service and technology options Ensure a range of BRT cost and benefits to improve the allocation of limited resources

Identify ways to cooperate or collaborate on common problems or programs

Link to 2004 report: http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/CBRT.pdf

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The US approach to BRT planning has been as an integrated system of elements RUNNING WAYS STATIONS AND LAND USE

SERVICE AND OPERATIONS PLAN FARE COLLECTION

Integration of Elements

VEHICLES

ITS MARKETING AND BRANDING

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The ten-day visit included meetings with a number of organizations in five cities Beijing

















Ministry of Construction (MOC), Division of Transport China Urban Public Transport Association (CUPTA) Municipal Committee of Communications Urban Transp. Inst., China Academy of Urban Planning and Design (CAUPD) Beijing Transp. Research Center Beijing Bus Company and BRT Operator Beijing University of Tech. Energy Foundation/China Sustainable Transportation Center (CSTC)

Nanjing






Institute of City Transport Planning, Southeast Univ. Municipal Construction Committee Bus and Metro Companies

Shanghai






Urban Transport Bureau Municipal Construction and Transportation Commission A Bus company

Kunming


Urban Transport Institute, BRT planners

Hangzhou






Municipal Communications Bureau and Construction Commission Transportation Research Center BRT Operator

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The institutional structure of transportation in China is quite different National and Provincial Level ---------------City and Local Level

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China is experiencing remarkable economic growth and demographic changes affecting urban and public transportation Growth of GDP per capita in the past decade has averaged almost 9% per annum and is expected to continue


Projected by the government to grow at an annual rate of 8% during the period of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10)

Demographic change



Urbanization (rural migration) Urban spatial decentralization (Prof. Gakenheimer, 2004)  Growth of suburbs and land consumption  Chinese cities are some of the densest in the world but are

decentralizing as government pursues a policy of creating satellite cities

Mobility effects (Prof. Gakenheimer, 2004)




Increasing private vehicle ownership (motorization) Increasing private vehicle use (trip rate: 2-3 trips/person/day) Increasing average trip length due to decentralization

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It is projected that China will become the second largest economy by the year 2030 Size of the economies in 2004:



US GDP: $12.6 trillion (largest) China GDP: nearly $2 trillion (6th largest)

Current exchange: US$1 = 8 Yuan (RMB) China is already the second biggest consumer of petroleum in the world after the US (IEA, 2004)

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Chinese cities are experiencing rapid motorization and are far from reaching saturation








Rising incomes Increased vehicle production and lower prices (domestic auto manufacturing industry) Urbanization and increased congestion

Cars / 1000 people (Logarithmic Scale)

Beijing: 2 million private vehicles; 1,000 new private vehicles/day (MOC, 2006) US motorized in 60-70 years 1000 (~750 veh/1000 pop.) 100 Primary reasons: 10

1

0.1

0.01 100

1000

U.S.

W. Germany

Japan

S. Korea

Brazil

Mexico

Malaysia

Indonesia

India

China

10000

100000

Per capita GDP, 1990 USD converted using Purchasing Power Parity (Logarithmic Scale) (Dr. Schipper, 2004)

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China is urbanizing and decentralizing at the same time, increasing the need for transit 150+ Chinese cities with >1 million population






Shanghai ~15 million Beijing ~13 million Nanjing ~5 million Hangzhou ~5 million Kunming ~4 million Number of Cities

50 US metro areas with >1 million pop. (Census 2004) China: urban population ~600 million (40%) US: urban and suburban population of ~ 234 million (80%)

(Cherry, 2005)

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Urban transportation problems in China are similar to the U.S. but are developing faster and becoming acute Growing traffic congestion, delays and productivity loss


Average speed in central Beijing and Shanghai decreased by 50% in past 10 years to 3 million developed preliminary metro plans or are operating metros (Zhang, 2003) Still, some of these cities and others are pursuing BRT

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BRT-type projects are encouraged as a lowercost rapid transit solution for intermediate to large corridors Buses carry the vast majority of motorized trips in Chinese cities (MOC, 2006):





93% of 661 cities in China have bus operations Currently carrying 40 billion trips/year and growing 280,000 buses and trolleys in China and increasing Operating speeds have been decreasing

At least 10 Chinese cities are actively planning or expanding BRT systems with varying approaches



Full-fledged BRT system Incremental implementation of BRT elements

BRT systems also may be well-suited for many other Chinese cities

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Beijing Southern Axis BRT Line 1







Opened December 2005 16.5 km mostly exclusive, center busway, 19 stations 100,000+ passengers/day 18 month implementation

By 2008 Olympics Games: 100 km BRT, 186 km metro By 2010: 10 BRT lines, 184 km

2010 BRT Plan Southern Axis BRT Line 1

Images Courtesy of CAUPD and CSTC

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Beijing - Southern Axis BRT Line 1 Center lane busway, some elevated intersections


22-26 km/hr operating speed

US$4 million/km infrastructure

Images Courtesy of Beijing BRT Co., Ltd , CSTC, and author’s photos

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Beijing - Southern Axis BRT Line 1 New articulated vehicles (Iveco-Chinese JV)


18 meter bus, ~US$250,000 each

New BRT operating company AVL, stop announcement, and video surveillance

Images Courtesy of CAUPD, CSTC, and author’s photos

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Beijing - Southern Axis BRT Line 1 Off-board fare collection Fare: 2 RMB (US$0.25) Level boarding

Images Courtesy of CAUPD and author’s photos

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Beijing BRT BRT Program Marketing Transit Signal Priority

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Shanghai Very limited road space for dedicated bus lanes




26 km of bus lanes installed in downtown in 2005 Increased speeds by 8-10% Planning TSP and passenger information systems

AVL on some routes, 1500 buses Multimodal contactless smartcard By 2010 World Expo:



Subway expansion program 250 km BRT network proposed  Connect with satellite cities  Intermodal terminals

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Nanjing Incrementally improving bus services









Testing AVL/CAD/passenger info systems on 3 routes and 300+ buses Considering stations and TSP to upgrade system Stop announcements Vehicle replacement

Subway expansion program

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Kunming Busway Network Launched the first modern busway in China in 1999







Kunming-Zurich Sister City partnership “Public Transport Master Plan” with Swiss assistance Ridership on demonstration line increased 13% since inception Average operating speed increased 68% to 15 km/hr Average pass. wait time decreased 59% Reduced fleet size by nearly half

全长13.9KM 全长 黄土坡至云纺路口 6.7KM 岷山至大树营 9.9KM

北站至南站 5KM

Currently 40 km network of 6 centerline, dedicated busways




75% coverage of city center 1.2 million passengers per day Capital cost: US$0.5-0.6 million/km

全长6.8KM 全长 全长8.9KM 全长 Images Courtesy of Kangming Xu

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Kunming Busway Network Incrementally implementing other BRT elements


Upgrading facilities and systems  Pass. info signs at stations  ITS to improve operations




Replacing buses with newer, cleaner vehicles

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Kunming Busway Network - Challenges Expanding capacity beyond 8,000 passengers/dir./hour





Constrained by ROW (lack of space to pass at stations) and intersections Considering TSP and higher capacity vehicles

Expanding the network beyond the city center Improving quality of service





Implementing contactless smart cards and free transfers Integration with bus network, passenger terminals

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Hangzhou BRT First line (B1) opened in April 2006







28 km dedicated bus lane Government funded first line Fare: 4 RMB (US$0.50), regular bus is 2 RMB 16 months of planning and construction

Hangzhou also constructing a subway by 2010 as part of a 30 billion RMB transportation investment program

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Hangzhou BRT 48 new articulated buses (18 meters)



Neoplan/Chinese JV 160 passengers

Peak headway: ~2 minutes

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Hangzhou BRT BRT stations are 150 meters from intersections Dedicated right lane with minimal physical separation

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Hangzhou BRT AVL/CAD 450 electronic signs at stops 200 bus stops in city center with real-time passenger information

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Hangzhou BRT Public information Smartcard fare collection

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Hangzhou BRT Program By 2006: 3 BRT lines, 55 km By 2010: 9 BRT lines, 142 km By 2020: 11 BRT line, 165 km

2006 BRT Network

2010 BRT Plan

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Summary of BRT technical characteristics in select Chinese cities Beijing Bus lane position

Center, with barriers

Bus lane width

Kunming Center, 5 cm barrier

3.5 m

Hangzhou Right, limited low barriers

3.2 m

3.5 m

Vehicles

18 meter low-floor

9-12 meter high-floor

18 meter low-floor

TSP

yes

no

SCATS

Real-time pass. info.

yes

Implementing

yes

Fare collection

Pre-payment

On-board

Pre-payment, smartcard

Operation

New BRT company

Existing organization and operators

Existing organization and operators

Development pattern

Secondary passenger corridor for city and TOD

Network

Connects the city center and periphery

Shared government and BRT company

Operator responsible for maintenance, signals and stations

Government-- including construction, vehicles, ITS

Financing

Source: CAUPD, April 2006

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There are several other Chinese cities planning or implementing BRT Jinan – under construction



2010: 6 BRT lines, 135 km 2020: 12 BRT lines, 208 km

Guangzhou – evaluation stage According to CAUPD, BRT also planned:














Chengdu Chongqing Fuzhou Hefei Qingdao Shenyang Shenzhen Shijiazhuang Suzhou Tianjin Wuhan Xi’an Zhengzhou Proposed BRT in Jinan courtesy of CAUPD

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There is a lot of BRT activity in Chinese cities, which are good laboratories for research According to CAUPD as of 2006: 969 km of BRT is planned



137 km is under construction now 39 km will be under construction

The development time is compressed



Typical implementation from planning to opening of